For seven lucky Charles Sturt University (CSU) Ontario students, their practicum teaching will provide more than the usual additional knowledge and opportunities. The Bachelor of Primary Education Studies students are heading ‘down under’ for between three and six weeks.

 

Debra Gross is one of the lucky students. “I thought it was a wonderful opportunity that if it were true, I had to grab a hold of. I've never travelled outside of Canada and the US, so am very excited that this possibility has become available for us.”

 

Four of the students are headed to Dubbo in the west of New South Wales. Debra and three others are going to Wagga Wagga, 459km (285 miles) south-west of Sydney, where she’ll teach kindergarten for three weeks.

 

Laura Lande is another of the trainee teachers headed down under. “My year at CSU in Ontario has been incredible. I also really enjoyed the fact that half of the staff was from Australia. We have literacy gurus on staff, a former principal, people in their second careers, the list goes on. I'm also excited to finish off my year in Australia, I feel it will be like the icing on the teacher's college cake.”

 

It’s an exciting time for the very first Charles Sturt University (CSU) Ontario intake, as graduation is now just three months away. Some of the students have already been told they are eligible for employment as Canadian teachers, according to Dr Rod Francis, Head of CSU in Ontario.

 

“The students are starting to score interviews, some have had multiple interviews with different education boards, and quite a few have already received letters saying they are on the Boards’ eligibility lists, so things are looking very promising.

 

“Like any teacher education course the students are going through what we call “employment fever”. They all start to think not just about finishing their course, but about where they want to work, and who they will get a job with.”

 

Carole Craig is one of the inaugural graduates of CSU in Ontario. She starts at the Toronto Catholic District School on 1 September as a French teacher. She says her course work and practicum teaching equipped her thoroughly for her job interview. “I felt confident. The interviewer commented on how well prepared I was for the interview and for teaching, and she was impressed by the quality of the education I received at CSU.”

 

The students are almost finished their one year graduate entry program which prepares them to teach in primary-junior classrooms in Ontario as part of the University’s commitment to high quality graduates who have employment ready skills.

 

This year the student intake is increasing from 100 to 180 students, “which is quite a jump. In preparation, we are renovating and extending the teaching space”

 

“We are anticipating that about 600 people will come to our information sessions, which we try and make pretty engaging. We work hard to get it right for our students and provide details about the Bachelor of Primary Education Studies, and they can get to see the facilities at the same time.”